Indische Palaographie von circa 350 a. Chr. – circa 1300 p. Chr. c48.s2.20.4

c48.s2.20.4

By some it is said that the occupations are interchangeable, and that families or individuals pass from one to another without any alteration of social status or loss of right of intermarriage. Others say that in the Tamil country the divisions do not generally intermarry, but that this is not the case in the Telugu country, where all five certainly eat together, and are said to intermarry. The Kanarese branches follow the rules of the Liṅgāyat community. In the Malabar tract the five stand on a different footing, and take a far lower position. They are amongst the impure castes and do not employ their own people as Brāhmans. The Ās'āri, or carpenter, who is the house-builder of the coast, stands above the rest, and at the ceremonies connected with the erection of a building he is allowed to wear the sacred thread. The Taṭṭān (goldsmiths), Kollan (blacksmiths), and Mūs'āri (coppersmiths), intermarry. The stonemason is not an important coast artisan, but above the Sahyādri and in the south, the number of stone temples and images is so large and their use so ancient, that the functions of the stone-worker have always been in great request; so much so, that in some of the inscriptions this craftsman is invested with the title of Ācārya, or teacher, which though the Pāñckalsī nowadays use it of each other, is not ordinarily conferred on any but religious or literary instructors.